


Locked Away

by CasBruell



Series: President Garon Oneshots [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Bigotry & Prejudice, Blood and Injury, Coming Out, Garon's an Asshole, M/M, Oneshot, Physical Abuse, Politics, Suicide Attempt, not very happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 08:22:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11144574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CasBruell/pseuds/CasBruell
Summary: "Little prince," he said softly, "are you sleeping?"He got no response and his brows furrowed. He stepped into the room and walked to the bed, taking a seat at the foot and reaching out to shake the form gently. The body didn't move, so he peeled back the covers, and was immediately struck with a new smell; copper.Xander gagged at the extreme scent and it stung his eyes, but now quite weary, pulled the duvet all the way off, only to be faced with his sweet little brother, laying on his side in the bed and in his pajamas, with his eyes shut, lips parted, and a fountain of crimson stagnant in his mouth and completely smothered by bloody bleach-scented sheets.





	Locked Away

**Author's Note:**

> Warning; this work contains heavy themes that may upset some viewers, including bigotry, abuse, and suicidal themes.

As Corrin sat at the desk in his room, the empty sheet of paper positioned neatly in front of him and mechanical pencil held in his right hand, he rested his head against his hand and sighed out. The red, blinking numbers on the alarm clock read nearly two in the morning. He felt exhausted but at the same time unable to fall asleep.

 

Corrin winced as he yawned and agitated the bruises that took up half of his face. When he tongued his lip he found that it still tasted like copper and was tender to the touch, and he sighed tiredly as he dropped the pencil and cradled his head in both hands.

 

_"Everyone,"_ he remembered saying rather idiotically, _"I need to tell you guys something."_

 

He recalled the way his heart pounded like a drum in his rib cage. He could practically feel the surrounding arteries dilating with the stress. It was a very uncomfortable feeling, but being the stubborn moron of the family, Corrin had decided to continue with his confession anyways.

 

Xander, Leo, Camilla, Elise, Gunter, Iago, and his father had been brought together in the living room, and all eyes were fixated on Corrin as he shifted his weight from foot to foot and crossed his arms in an attempt to keep his cool. His face was sweltering, his skin was bright red, and he just knew that they could see him squirming.

 

Corrin recalled taking many deep breaths to calm himself down before he began to stammer and mumble, only for his father, the president, to growl and snap at him to _spit it out already._ Corrin had flinched and hesitated, but he bottled up his courage, gave it a good shake, and popped the lid off as he blurted out not exactly what he wanted to say, but what was important to say as quickly as possible.

 

"I'm gay." he admitted to his family. As soon as the words left his lips he felt his throat tighten and his belly convulsed, but he stood his ground.

 

He remembered the way that Leo and Xander shared a rather underwhelmed look, whereas Elise just smiled and Camilla tossed her hair over her shoulder. The room was silent for a few minutes, the only noise being the consistent tick-tock of the antique grandfather clock in the corner.

 

At first he was hopeful that they'd give him a chance to explain, that maybe things wouldn't be so bad, but his optimism was shattered when President Garon rose to his feet, crossed the room towards Corrin, reeled back his thick hand, and snapped his elbow with the speed of lightning.

 

At first Corrin didn't feel anything but the firmness of his palm as it smashed across his cheek, but after picking himself up off of the ground, the pain blossomed through his face and blood dribbled into his mouth from his cut lip thanks to Garon's ring.

 

"Corrin!" He heard Camilla cry out, as well as Xander's shocked stammer as he tried to tow Garon away from him, only for the man to shoulder him to the side and draw a handkerchief from his pocket to clean his bloodied fingers.

 

The boy felt dazed and confused, the strike having rattled him after quite literally never having a hand laid on him in his life (aside from affectionate gestures from his siblings and lover), but his mind soon cleared as Garon took hold of his wrist and jerked him out of the living room despite Corrin's protests.

 

After that, well... The world will never see the rest of the marks he was given. After his father finally calmed down and finished his little episode, he calmly adjusted the gauntlets of his shirt and took a deep breath. He then informed Corrin that as far as he was concerned, Corrin had no father, and left him battered in his study as if nothing had happened.

 

Corrin's heart clenched at the terrible images in his head. He rubbed his arms and rested his forehead against the desk, blinking away scalding tears as they attempted once again to pour from his eyes. But he didn't want to give Garon the satisfaction, so he kept them in and ignored the dry heaves and hiccups from the strain.

* * *

Things have never been the same after Garon began to beat Corrin. The president took any mistake the boy made as an excuse to "punish" him, either by swatting him across the mouth or in more extreme cases, dragging him to his study to belt or cane him for any wrongdoings. Although Corrin's mistakes were usually trivial little things like not cleaning his room or staying up late or goofing off from his studies.

 

Corrin felt disgusting. His body was covered in ugly bruises from his father's torment, marks so hideous that he couldn't bear the thought of anybody even looking at him anymore. He stopped calling Silas; his best friend deserved a boyfriend who wasn't so terribly disfigured and disgusting.

 

Xander tried to get Garon to stop, he pleaded with the man for several days to stop abusing his precious little prince, but Garon either ignored him or threatened to beat Xander as well if he ever dared to defy him. Camilla tried to protect Corrin as much as she possibly could, but if their father wasn't practically intoxicated with rage from the stressful job of leading the country and secluding himself in an isolated bubble, he was explosively taking out his horrifying anger issues on the only one of his children that he felt no paternal compassion for.

 

Ever since Corrin was born Garon felt nothing towards him. One of his ex-wives, a beautiful Asian woman named Mikoto, had had an affair with someone Garon once called his friend, and then she tried to leave him for said friend after giving birth to her only child. But Garon was a vengeful man, and with his strong political connections before winning the presidency, it was a trivial matter to steal custody from her and simply lock the child away where he never needed to actually interact with it.

 

The boy reminded Garon of Mikoto. He had her facial structure, fair skin, eye color, even her smile was the same as his. Everything about him made Garon feel sick to his stomach with disgust, but he refused to allow the whore who birthed him the joy of raising her child with his ex-friend. Seeing Corrin as miserable as possible made Garon feel better about himself, his own decisions, and it permitted him to see those bruises and pitiful expressions on Mikoto for betraying him.

 

Truth be told, Garon kept tabs on the wench. He knew her husband, the chief of the police force on the opposite side of the city, Sumeragi Hoshido, had four children from his ex-wife and adopted their youngest daughter as a toddler. Ryoma, the eldest, was a college student the same age as Xander as well as a police officer in training. Takumi, Leo's parallel, was in high school and had a great affinity for archery. Hinoka, who reminded Garon of Camilla's polar opposite, was a tomboy who began smoking at age fourteen. And Sakura, someone Elise would have adored, was a shy girl who wanted to be a doctor one day.

 

They were a perfectly lovely family, cherished by their neighbors and without enemies. Well, aside from Garon's political party.

 

When Garon launched his first televised speech on behalf of his running for president, the very next day Sumeragi and Ryoma had uploaded a video to Metube and social media opposing his ideals and intentions towards the country. Their little protest gained strong support, but not strong enough to stop him from being elected into office. Garon wasn't entirely certain if they launched the protest to express a difference of opinion, or if they did it to personally spite him for his checkered background. Nevertheless they were his enemies.

 

Garon wasn't afraid of the consequences of beating his bastard child. His own children would never expose his behavior, and since Corrin never left the estate, nobody on the outside would see the bruises and decide to pry. Although Garon knew that if word got out, it would be very, very ugly. If not for his presidency than for the little platinum blonde faggot that he called his stress relief tool.

* * *

When Xander knocked on the door to his brother's estate, he was greeted by Gunter, the aging man who had taken care of the boy ever since he was put under house arrest as a baby. Gunter was like a father figure to him, although he was forced by Garon to keep a professional distance from Corrin, under the threat of losing his job if he got too close to him. 

 

"Ah, good afternoon, Gunter," Xander greeted him with a smile, "I came to visit Corrin. I know he's been... rather depressed, as you know, so I thought we could spend some time together this weekend."

 

"Of course, sir," Gunter returned, stepping aside to allow him in. "Corrin's been in his room for the longest time, I've no luck even getting him to come downstairs and eat. But if anybody can cheer him up, it's you." He gestured towards the stairs. "And do be quiet, yes? I've been cleaning up and it's ever so hard to concentrate without silence."

 

Xander nodded and climbed the stairs two at a time. He brought a recyclable bag with some snacks and books that he knew Corrin would enjoy, such as some cheesy poofs and the latest issues of the Icepower series.

 

The upstairs hallway was as still and silent as a graveyard. All Xander could hear was the consistent pitter-patter of his footsteps against the hardwood floor as he crossed the long corridor, only to turn right at the end and gently rap his knuckles against the dark wooden door.

 

"Little prince?" He called gently. "It's your big brother, I came to hang out with you."

 

The room was silent, so he slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open, and immediately the stench of cleaning chemicals assaulted his nostrils. It caught him off guard, but Gunter _did_ say that he'd been cleaning, so he simply blinked and peered into the room.

 

The bedroom was as messy as you'd expect for a teenager, the window was shut, the laptop closed, and there was a form curled up under the thick duvet.

 

"Little prince," he said softly, "are you sleeping?"

 

He got no response and his brows furrowed. He stepped into the room and walked to the bed, taking a seat at the foot and reaching out to shake the form gently. The body didn't move, so he peeled back the covers, and was immediately struck with a new smell; copper.

 

Xander gagged at the extreme scent and it stung his eyes, but now quite weary, pulled the duvet all the way off, only to be faced with his sweet little brother, laying on his side in the bed and in his pajamas, with his eyes shut, lips parted, and a fountain of crimson stagnant in his mouth and completely smothered by bloody bleach-scented sheets.

 

Xander's eyes blew wide and he immediately threw the blanket off, only to find his clothes caked in more crimson vomit, and he felt his breath leave his body.

 

"Corrin!" He cried out in horror, pulling the much smaller male into his lap and tilting his face so the remaining fluids in his mouth dribbled out and onto his lap, but he didn't care. "Corrin, please, wake up," he pleaded desperately, "Corrin, Corrin!"

 

But the limp body in his arms didn't even stir. He looped his arms around his back and under his knees, hoisting him up and making a break for the hallway before tearing it down the stairs, all the while screaming for Gunter to call an ambulance.

 

Within ten minutes Xander was sitting anxiously in the back of the whirring ambulance, his hands clasped in front of his face in fear as he prayed to every single God he's ever heard of to _please, please_ just don't take away his baby brother. The ride to the ER was a loud and frantic one, but as soon as they reached the hospital Xander was forced to sit in the waiting area while the doctors whisked Corrin away to treat the severe poisoning he suffered.

 

The hardest part was calling his siblings to tell them what happened. Camilla was devastated when she learned of Corrin's condition, and Leo distracted himself by comforting Elise, who was sobbing uncontrollably in his arms. But when the time came to call their father, Xander found that he didn't have the courage to dial his number. He sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair, mobile in hand, and stared at the screen saver.

 

Camilla took a shaky breath as she sat down beside him. She had been at work when he contacted her, and since she had to pick Leo and Elise up from school, she didn't have time to change out of her waitress uniform.

 

"What... happened?" She asked with hesitation.

 

Xander sighed and hung his head, elbows to his thighs and leaning forward. "...I have a theory, but I'm hoping to God it isn't true."

 

Camilla took another deep and somehow half-stable breath. They were silent for a few minutes and only looked up when a tall man with glasses and a clipboard approached them. His name tag read Yukimura.

 

In an instant Xander was on his feet. "Is he okay?"

 

The doctor gave a half-hearted smile, although Xander could easily see the uncertainty behind his eyes. The doctor moved his clipboard to his other arm and adjusted his glasses.

 

"We were able to resuscitate him. Luckily the bleach he swallowed was diluted enough with water that it wasn't fatal, although his throat, mouth, and stomach were burned quite badly, hence the bloody vomit." He placed a hand on Xander's shoulder. "We're going to keep him through the weekend, however, to make sure he doesn't hurt himself again."

"So... you're saying that he did this to himself." He said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

 

Yukimura bit his lip. He was clearly uncomfortable. "Yes. It's not uncommon for young people to be admitted for bleach poisoning. It's... a common thing for young people who are suicidal, aside from drug overdoses."

 

_Suicidal._ Xander's head spun at the ugly word and it's even uglier implications. He wasn't sure if he could handle the reality that his sweet little prince was so hurt and unhappy that he wanted to leave the planet. He felt like the absolute _worst_ big brother ever. He didn't deserve to be Corrin's brother if he couldn't even protect him from himself. _"If only I got there sooner,"_ he told himself guiltily.

 

"Also," Yukimura spoke up with a sudden seriousness, "you're required by the tricountry law to tell me why he's covered head to toe in bruises."

 

Well, that certainly turned Xander's blood to ice. His eyes hardened and he glanced at his siblings, who stared back at him with varying expressions. He sighed. "Before I tell you, I need you to understand something." He said calmly, a palm raised. "We have a very unorthodox situation. Our father is a very powerful man, so much so that we're unable to prevent these things from happening, and-"

 

Yukimura suddenly looked quite disgusted. He didn't need to hear any more. "Your father abused a minor and you did nothing? Are you aware of the extent of his injuries?"

 

Xander winced. No, of course he didn't. The abuse happened behind closed doors, not in front of them like some kind of sick show.

 

The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. "The list is long and I have no time for this. You're going to have to stay here until the police arrive, they've already been contacted and they'll have some questions for you and your family."

 

"Wait," Xander croaked, "can we see Corrin? He's never been in a place like this, he needs to see us, please, doctor."

 

However, Yukimura scoffed. "With irresponsible, enabling siblings like you people, you're lucky I don't have you arrested right now for child endangerment."

 

With that, the Asian turned on his heel and walked off to check on the patients in his care, leaving the family dumbfounded and in shock at their harsh dressing-down. But he meant every word. Any time a child is neglected it made his blood boil, being a single Pinterest father himself who involved himself deeply in his daughter's hobbies and dreams. The fact that anybody could abuse their own child, blood related or not, was bad enough. But to allow it to happen? He practically saw red at the baffling idea.


End file.
